Gilad Shalit poster. Disagreements unchanged
Photo: Reuters
Hamas: Shalit talks frozen for Muslim holiday
Organization sources clarify German, Egyptian mediators to continue attempts to bridge differences regarding identity of senior prisoners slated to be released in exchange for kidnapped soldier
Gilad Shalit
will not return home in the coming days, despite recent optimistic reports. Sources in the Hamas
organization said Thursday that the negotiations aimed at securing the kidnapped soldier's release will be frozen for the next few days due to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The sources clarified that despite the great deal of progress made in the recent round of talks, the disagreements are still deep. According to the sources, the dispute in regards to the identity of the "heavy" prisoners slated to be released – including Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Saadat and senior members of Hamas' military wing – remains unchanged.
According to the sources, the Hamas delegation has returned to Cairo from Damascus, where the group's leadership convened to discuss the latest Israeli offer, and is now making its way to the Gaza Strip.
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Other disagreements relate to the release of Israeli Arabs and the prisoners' deportation – the length of the deportation period and the country the prisoners will be expelled to.
Hamas members estimated that additional rounds of talks would be needed to finalize the deal, but noted that the German and Egyptian mediators will continue their efforts to bridge the differences in the coming days, so as not to lose the momentum created in the past week.
Senior Hamas member Dr. Khalil al-Hayya presented a more negative approach on Wednesday, following the Damascus discussions, accusing Israel of torpedoing the deal by not accepting the Palestinian demands.
Organization sources told Ynet that the formula presented in Cairo was rejected by the movement's leaders. Other sources told the Reuters news agency that the bone of contention was related to two "particularly heavy-hitting" prisoners.
